1. Management of Different Philosophies-In a school, a principal will work with teachers who have varied philosophies about educational best practices. Examples might include, but are not limited to, grading scales, homework, curriculum, collaboration, or student discipline. As an administrator, how do you bring different styles together to create a climate of progress and collaboration? Expanded Ideas What about parents and their views? Resources-how money is spent, how resources in a school are utilized Safety of Students/Areas off limits Communication (expectation revolving around frequency and timeliness of comm.) What should class time be used for? Guest speakers? Athletics (support, funding, etc) Inclusion/Special Ed Schedules, looping How to Begin Researching Gathering consensus, teacher autonomy, nonegotiables How do you gather different philosophies Backwards planning, gap analysis Bending vs. Breaking vs. no flexibility
2.Time Management (Professional)-The job description of a principal is never ending. Despite creating a list of “most important to-dos”, something can pop up and rearrange an entire schedule. As an administrator, how can you manage your time effectively while trying to leave room for the unpredictable events? Expanded Ideas Prioritize Delegate Priorities of higher up, goals, missions, values Organization Training
3. Time Management (Personal)- Principals often feel overwhelmed by the multitude of tasks that they face every day. In the interest of doing the best job possible, an administrator could work seven days a week and still not get everything done. While it is clear that the job of a principal is not a 9-5 position, where do you draw the line to take personal time for yourself to avoid burnout? Expanded Ideas Downtime Set Guidelines/standards/rules Routine Coach, take advice How do you turn it off and on? Know yourself
4. Public Relations- The job of a principal is incredibly political. Managing the relationships of teachers, parents, PTOs, school boards, and community members in general is an essential job duty. School administrators are the face of a school and are held accountable for successes and failures. As a principal, what strategies can you use to build and maintain these relationships? Expanded Ideas Being visible, be recognizable Get out of the office Community Events Get to know the right people Network Comfortable being overt What is the relationship between principal and school board Things not to do!
5. School Climate-The climate of a school is a fluid environment that is subject to change at the hand of many factors. The political climate in our state has left many teachers unsure about the stability of the profession and in turn, has shaken the climate in many cases. As a principal, what can you do to improve the climate of your building, considering you may not have control over certain aspects that affect the climate? Expanded Ideas Utilize teacher leaders, student leaders Assessing climate, how do you get a feel Think outside of the box, what can you do to to improve the climate?
6. Professional Growth- Principals are constantly focusing on developing their teachers and other staff members. However, to be an effective principal, you need to continue to grow as well, including staying up to date on best practices. As a principal, what can you do to access professional development opportunities for yourself? Expanded Ideas Professional organization Networking Teach a class Exposing yourself to new ideas
7. Tough Conversations-In the interest of moving your school from good to great, principals need to address behaviors that negatively affect the climate of your school or are simply not good for kids (ex. coming late to work, disrespect for students, insubordination, etc.) As a principal, how will you handle those tough conversations and what will you do to address poor performing staff members? Expanded Ideas Documentation/Follow Up What defines negative behavior? To what extent do you have to perceive a problem Chain of Command- what options do you have? Strategies for dealing with a problem How do you start the conversation? What venue? I message/ we message How are you going to get coached up, helped through?
8. Student Discipline-The reasons for sending a student to see the principal vary greatly from teacher to teacher, as does the expectations of the outcomes of those visits. Administrators need to weigh several factors when addressing appropriate discipline (ex. age, offense, history, home life, location, etc.) As a principal, what will your philosophy be regarding student discipline and what message will you send to the staff about teacher/principal managed behaviors? Expanded Ideas Communication Documentation Clear expectations Teacher managed behaviors vs. Office managed behaviors (PBIS) Interpersonal skills/Relationship building Parent communication Perceptions (what's tolerated whats not)
9.Hiring Process/Teacher Evaluation- It could be argued that the most important job of a principal is hiring and improving teachers. A teacher with ten years of experience will be in front of hundreds of students and that influence cannot be replicated, positively or negatively. As a principal, what philosophies will you establish when interviewing candidates? Also, what strategies will you use to improve the teaching and learning that takes place in your buildings? Expanded Ideas Hiring- how do you hire and who do you hire? what qualities are you looking for? Recruitment
Improving Teachers-how can you move teachers from C to B and B to A Teacher coaches Growing, not evaluating and measuring Being present in classrooms New Teacher Effectiveness Model
10. Implementing Change-When stepping into the role of a new school administrator, you are sure to hear “that’s not how it was done in the past” or “that is how we have always done it”. Establishing new policies and procedures can be a challenge, especially when the culture may have dictated otherwise, As a principal, what strategies will you use to implement different levels of change with in the school? Expanded Ideas Informed change Doing what is good for kids, being able to back it up Having sound rationale Communicating the change Timeline, don't rush Thoughtful, lasting change Cynical about to much change Top down change, top up change
11.Delegating Tasks- One aspect of being a successful principal is having high standards. However, to be truly effective, you need to be able to get others to strive for those same high standards. Sometimes it can be easier to just “do it yourself”, which eventually creates an unrealistic and overwhelming workload. As a principal, how will you manage the delegation of tasks while trusting that the work will be done at a high level. Develop teacher leaders Training to lead initiatives Behind the scenes Motivating and Facilitating Empowering Incentives to lead Department chairs of 20 years How do you select people to delegate things to?
12. Planning Staff Meetings- Time is a factor in all aspects of being an administrator. With the exception of whole or half staff development days, staff meetings are usually restricted to 30 minutes before or after school. As a principal, how will you structure those meetings to ensure they are focused on teaching and learning, not managerial information? Expanded Ideas What do teachers like and don't like about staff meetings, what would they find valuable? What are the goals of the staff meeting? Different types of meetings (categorize) Yearly focus Who attends them? Who sets the agenda? Make them relevant How often? Why have staff meetings? purpose Building goals
13. Balancing Needs and Wants- As the building administrator, you are the boss and staff members will come to you seeking answers for everything from field trips to time off requests. It will be your responsibility to assess the needs and wants, while keeping in mind that decisions you make could establish future protocols. As a principal, what factors will play into your decision making about daily managerial decisions? Expanded Ideas Decision making Fair vs. Equal
14.Mentoring New Teachers- It is estimated that up to 50% of new teachers will quit the profession within the first five years. Considering the time that is invested in finding, hiring, and training new teachers, these lost employees represent a great loss for your school and the district. As a principal, what strategies can you use to mentor, grow, and develop teachers who are new to the profession. Expanded Ideas Mentoring program frequent check ins short conversations shadowing times choosing quality mentors evaluation system, giving them something to improve off of variability of first year teachers- individualized support
15. Data Based Decision Making-The Common Core State Standards are holding our schools accountable for high levels of achievement for all students. Building administrators will be held liable for the closing the gap between high and low performing students. In order to accomplish this task, schools will need to assemble teams who are responsible for analyzing data, developing action plans, and establishing school wide improvement goals. As a principal, As a principal, how will you bring light to these goals to help utilize data based decision making? Expanded Ideas Translate analysis into practice Best practices vs. Next practices Good, useful, valid, reliable data Data rich, but not too data rich
Expanded Ideas
What about parents and their views?
Resources-how money is spent, how resources in a school are utilized
Safety of Students/Areas off limits
Communication (expectation revolving around frequency and timeliness of comm.)
What should class time be used for? Guest speakers?
Athletics (support, funding, etc)
Inclusion/Special Ed
Schedules, looping
How to Begin Researching
Gathering consensus, teacher autonomy, nonegotiables
How do you gather different philosophies
Backwards planning, gap analysis
Bending vs. Breaking vs. no flexibility
2.Time Management (Professional)-The job description of a principal is never ending. Despite creating a list of “most important to-dos”, something can pop up and rearrange an entire schedule. As an administrator, how can you manage your time effectively while trying to leave room for the unpredictable events?
Expanded Ideas
Prioritize
Delegate
Priorities of higher up, goals, missions, values
Organization
Training
3. Time Management (Personal)- Principals often feel overwhelmed by the multitude of tasks that they face every day. In the interest of doing the best job possible, an administrator could work seven days a week and still not get everything done. While it is clear that the job of a principal is not a 9-5 position, where do you draw the line to take personal time for yourself to avoid burnout?
Expanded Ideas
Downtime
Set Guidelines/standards/rules
Routine
Coach, take advice
How do you turn it off and on?
Know yourself
4. Public Relations- The job of a principal is incredibly political. Managing the relationships of teachers, parents, PTOs, school boards, and community members in general is an essential job duty. School administrators are the face of a school and are held accountable for successes and failures. As a principal, what strategies can you use to build and maintain these relationships?
Expanded Ideas
Being visible, be recognizable
Get out of the office
Community Events
Get to know the right people
Network
Comfortable being overt
What is the relationship between principal and school board
Things not to do!
5. School Climate-The climate of a school is a fluid environment that is subject to change at the hand of many factors. The political climate in our state has left many teachers unsure about the stability of the profession and in turn, has shaken the climate in many cases. As a principal, what can you do to improve the climate of your building, considering you may not have control over certain aspects that affect the climate?
Expanded Ideas
Utilize teacher leaders, student leaders
Assessing climate, how do you get a feel
Think outside of the box, what can you do to to improve the climate?
6. Professional Growth- Principals are constantly focusing on developing their teachers and other staff members. However, to be an effective principal, you need to continue to grow as well, including staying up to date on best practices. As a principal, what can you do to access professional development opportunities for yourself?
Expanded Ideas
Professional organization
Networking
Teach a class
Exposing yourself to new ideas
7. Tough Conversations-In the interest of moving your school from good to great, principals need to address behaviors that negatively affect the climate of your school or are simply not good for kids (ex. coming late to work, disrespect for students, insubordination, etc.) As a principal, how will you handle those tough conversations and what will you do to address poor performing staff members?
Expanded Ideas
Documentation/Follow Up
What defines negative behavior? To what extent do you have to perceive a problem
Chain of Command- what options do you have?
Strategies for dealing with a problem
How do you start the conversation? What venue?
I message/ we message
How are you going to get coached up, helped through?
8. Student Discipline-The reasons for sending a student to see the principal vary greatly from teacher to teacher, as does the expectations of the outcomes of those visits. Administrators need to weigh several factors when addressing appropriate discipline (ex. age, offense, history, home life, location, etc.) As a principal, what will your philosophy be regarding student discipline and what message will you send to the staff about teacher/principal managed behaviors?
Expanded Ideas
Communication
Documentation
Clear expectations
Teacher managed behaviors vs. Office managed behaviors (PBIS)
Interpersonal skills/Relationship building
Parent communication
Perceptions (what's tolerated whats not)
9.Hiring Process/Teacher Evaluation- It could be argued that the most important job of a principal is hiring and improving teachers. A teacher with ten years of experience will be in front of hundreds of students and that influence cannot be replicated, positively or negatively. As a principal, what philosophies will you establish when interviewing candidates? Also, what strategies will you use to improve the teaching and learning that takes place in your buildings?
Expanded Ideas
Hiring- how do you hire and who do you hire? what qualities are you looking for?
Recruitment
Improving Teachers-how can you move teachers from C to B and B to A
Teacher coaches
Growing, not evaluating and measuring
Being present in classrooms
New Teacher Effectiveness Model
10. Implementing Change-When stepping into the role of a new school administrator, you are sure to hear “that’s not how it was done in the past” or “that is how we have always done it”. Establishing new policies and procedures can be a challenge, especially when the culture may have dictated otherwise, As a principal, what strategies will you use to implement different levels of change with in the school?
Expanded Ideas
Informed change
Doing what is good for kids, being able to back it up
Having sound rationale
Communicating the change
Timeline, don't rush
Thoughtful, lasting change
Cynical about to much change
Top down change, top up change
11. Delegating Tasks- One aspect of being a successful principal is having high standards. However, to be truly effective, you need to be able to get others to strive for those same high standards. Sometimes it can be easier to just “do it yourself”, which eventually creates an unrealistic and overwhelming workload. As a principal, how will you manage the delegation of tasks while trusting that the work will be done at a high level.
Develop teacher leaders
Training to lead initiatives
Behind the scenes
Motivating and Facilitating
Empowering
Incentives to lead
Department chairs of 20 years
How do you select people to delegate things to?
12. Planning Staff Meetings- Time is a factor in all aspects of being an administrator. With the exception of whole or half staff development days, staff meetings are usually restricted to 30 minutes before or after school. As a principal, how will you structure those meetings to ensure they are focused on teaching and learning, not managerial information?
Expanded Ideas
What do teachers like and don't like about staff meetings, what would they find valuable?
What are the goals of the staff meeting?
Different types of meetings (categorize)
Yearly focus
Who attends them?
Who sets the agenda?
Make them relevant
How often?
Why have staff meetings? purpose
Building goals
13. Balancing Needs and Wants- As the building administrator, you are the boss and staff members will come to you seeking answers for everything from field trips to time off requests. It will be your responsibility to assess the needs and wants, while keeping in mind that decisions you make could establish future protocols. As a principal, what factors will play into your decision making about daily managerial decisions?
Expanded Ideas
Decision making
Fair vs. Equal
14.Mentoring New Teachers- It is estimated that up to 50% of new teachers will quit the profession within the first five years. Considering the time that is invested in finding, hiring, and training new teachers, these lost employees represent a great loss for your school and the district. As a principal, what strategies can you use to mentor, grow, and develop teachers who are new to the profession.
Expanded Ideas
Mentoring program
frequent check ins
short conversations
shadowing times
choosing quality mentors
evaluation system, giving them something to improve off of
variability of first year teachers- individualized support
15. Data Based Decision Making-The Common Core State Standards are holding our schools accountable for high levels of achievement for all students. Building administrators will be held liable for the closing the gap between high and low performing students. In order to accomplish this task, schools will need to assemble teams who are responsible for analyzing data, developing action plans, and establishing school wide improvement goals. As a principal, As a principal, how will you bring light to these goals to help utilize data based decision making?
Expanded Ideas
Translate analysis into practice
Best practices vs. Next practices
Good, useful, valid, reliable data
Data rich, but not too data rich